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rattlebox, showy crotalaria, showy rattlebox

slender leaf rattlebox

Habit Herbs annual. Herbs annual or short-lived perennial.
Stems

suffrutescent basally, erect, 50–150 cm, glabrous.

erect, 70–250 cm, strigose.

Leaves

unifoliolate;

stipules ovate to ovate-lanceolate, not decurrent on stem, 4–7 mm;

blade obovate to elliptic, 50–150 mm, length 1.5–2.5 times width, surfaces glaucous, strigose abaxially, glabrous-punctate adaxially.

3-foliolate;

stipules absent;

leaflet blades linear to linear-lanceolate or elliptic-lanceolate, 50–130(–180) mm, length 7–10 times width, surfaces strigose abaxially, glabrous adaxially.

Racemes

12–22-flowered, terminal, subterminal, or lateral, 10–50 cm;

bracts persistent, cordate-auriculate, 5–8 mm.

4–12-flowered, terminal or subterminal, 15–40 cm;

bracts persistent, linear-triangular, minute.

Flowers

calyx broadly cylindrical, 10–15 mm, lobes triangular-lanceolate, glabrous;

corolla bright yellow, faintly red-lined, 17–25 mm.

calyx broadly cylindrical, truncate basally, 4–6 mm, lobes triangular, shiny-glabrous;

corolla pale yellow with prominent reddish purple lines, 18–20 mm.

Legumes

30–45 × 10–20 mm, glabrous.

straight, (40–)50–70 × (10–)15–20 mm, sparsely strigose or glabrescent.

2n

= 16.

= 16.

Crotalaria spectabilis

Crotalaria ochroleuca

Phenology Flowering (Jan–)Aug–Oct (year-round). Flowering Apr–Oct.
Habitat Grassy or fallow fields, roadsides, ditches, borrow pits, lake edges, disturbed areas. Roadsides, ditches, prairie swales, sandy fields.
Elevation 10–200 m. [30–700 ft.] 0–10 m. [0–30 ft.]
Distribution
map from FNA
AL; AR; FL; GA; IL; LA; MD; MO; MS; NC; SC; TN; TX; VA; Asia [Introduced in North America; introduced also in Mexico, West Indies, Central America, South America, Indian Ocean Islands (Reúnion), Pacific Islands]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
map from FNA
AL; FL; GA; LA; MS; NC; SC; Africa [Introduced in North America; introduced also in South America (Brazil), Asia (China), Pacific Islands (Papua New Guinea), Australia]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

In Texas, Crotalaria spectabilis is known from Brazos, Cameron, Karnes, and Liberty counties.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Crotalaria ochroleuca has often been identified in the United States as C. intermedia Kotschy or C. brevidens Bentham var. intermedia (Kotschy) Polhill.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Parent taxa Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae > Crotalaria Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae > Crotalaria
Sibling taxa
C. avonensis, C. incana, C. juncea, C. lanceolata, C. ochroleuca, C. pallida, C. pumila, C. purshii, C. retusa, C. rotundifolia, C. sagittalis, C. trichotoma, C. verrucosa, C. virgulata
C. avonensis, C. incana, C. juncea, C. lanceolata, C. pallida, C. pumila, C. purshii, C. retusa, C. rotundifolia, C. sagittalis, C. spectabilis, C. trichotoma, C. verrucosa, C. virgulata
Synonyms C. retzii
Name authority Roth: Nov. Pl. Sp., 341. (1821) G. Don: Gen. Hist. 2: 138. (1832)
Source FNA vol. 11. Treatment author: Guy L. Nesom. FNA vol. 11. Treatment author: Guy L. Nesom.
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